A Blade Echoing the Untamed West
Forged in the fires of Windlass and in collaboration with ProForge, the Red McCray Badlands Western Bowie Knife emerges as a 48cm (18.9-inch) monstrosity—a full-tang brute that carries the weight of the wild with sheer power at 715g (25.2oz). Its 35cm (13.78-inch) clip-point bowie blade, honed from 1085 carbon steel to a high-polish gleam, spans a 32.5cm (12.8-inch) cutting edge—6.2cm (2.44 inches) tall, 4.3mm thick—flat-ground with a secondary V-edge that bites deep and true. Rated at 55-58 HRC, this steel holds its own, shrugging off wear while demanding respect under the sun’s glare.
The handle, a creamy arc of bone stretching 11.3cm (4.45 inches), measures 2.85cm (1.12 inches) wide and thick—smooth as a wind-worn ridge, it locks into your grip with primal certainty. Encased by stainless steel bolster and pommel—silver flashing like a gunslinger’s badge—it balances at 1 5/8 inches from the guard, a poised giant ready to dance. Sheathed in black leather, rugged and unyielding, it’s a companion that rides your belt with a lifetime warranty whispering permanence.
This Bowie draws breath from a near-replica in a private collection—once clutched by Elias “Red” McCray, a close friend of the McCurdy family, was an understated cowboy who roamed the Badlands of the 1870s. Born in a dust-choked Texas hollow in 1849, Red was no stranger to the wild. By the age of 20, he’d tamed broncos, faced down rustlers, and carved a name from El Paso to Deadwood. They say he carried this blade, its bone grip stained by sweat, sun and blood, through the lawless sprawl, felling foes and splitting kindling with equal ease. A quiet giant at 6’4”, Red vanished into legend after a showdown near the Pecos in ’83, shot by John Wesley Hardin Clements, leaving only whispers and this knife’s twin behind. He earned the nickname "Red" from the stains of blood that covered the sheath of his bowie, announcing to all eyes on Red, that he is not one to be tested.
We resurrected that spirit—silver, white, and cream hues gleaming like a ghost of the plains.
It's said that this knife was designed by no other than Jim Bowie himself, and forged by Mr. Wostenholm.
Feel its heft, trace the bone’s curve—this blade carries a story; it’s Red McCray’s echo, a piece of the Badlands you can hold. Built to cleave and endure, it’s a monument to a cowboy’s unbreakable will—own it, and you claim a slice of the untamed West. A legacy this fierce belongs in your hands.
More information on the steel used for the Badlands Bowie
Carbon steel; iron infused with carbon for strength, first flickered into use around 1200 BCE in the hands of Anatolian blacksmiths, with the Hittites forging crude blades that outmatched bronze. By 500 BCE, India’s wootz steel, a high-carbon marvel, was dazzling warriors, its secrets rippling through Damascus smiths by the early centuries CE. Fast forward to Europe’s Middle Ages—around the 13th century—and smiths were dialing in carbon levels closer to 0.8-1.0%, crafting swords and knives with a balance of hardness and flexibility. The 1085 we know today sits in that sweet spot, but it wasn’t named or standardized until the industrial age.
The real leap came in the 19th century—think 1850s—when steelmaking went from art to science. The Bessemer process blew open mass production, and by the late 1800s, carbon steels like 1085 were being refined in American forges for tools, blades, and machinery. The AISI system locked in the "1085" tag around 1912, giving us the precise recipe—0.80-0.93% carbon, traces of manganese, and pure iron grit. That’s when 1085, as we’d recognize it, hit the scene, prized for its edge-holding bite and forge-friendly temper, perfect for a Bowie like Jim Bowie’s.
So, while carbon steel’s been around since the Bronze Age collapsed, 1085 as a distinct alloy crystallized in the industrial boom—late 19th century, early 20th—when steel became less guesswork and more gospel. Jim Bowie’s blade might’ve danced close to it in spirit, but the Badlands Western Bowie Knife wields the modern echo of that ancient craft.
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